Electronic components including a semiconductor chip are normally provided in the form of a package which includes a housing to protect the semiconductor chip and outer contact areas such as pins or solder balls which enable the semiconductor chip to be electrically accessed from outside of the package housing.
After an electronic component is manufactured, the electronic component is normally mounted on a higher level circuit board such as a printed circuit board (PCB) by solder connections between the external contact areas of the component and the higher-level circuit board. This may be carried out by a solder reflow process during which the solder is melted and allowed to resolidify to produce a mechanical and electrical connection between the electronic component and the PCB. This mounting process is normally carried out by the customer.
However, the electronic component may be damaged during the mounting process so that an electronic component which correctly functioned after manufacture no longer functions when mounted on the PCB. This is undesirable as the electronic component has to be replaced.